Goat heaven

Our new farm is a little smaller than the last, however, the usable land actually makes it better. There is about 1 acre in the back that was made for goats. In fact, it even had old 4″ square fencing up. Unfortunately, it was so old, we had to remove it all to make it goat proof again. It took about a week of work, but today, I finally finished getting the entire perimeter fenced in with hard wire. We plan to subdivide a little and make some additional isolation pens, but that can wait until after everything else is moved.
The acre that is now a goat pen is completely covered in poison ivy that is about 12-18″ high at this point. Additionally, there are briars and other general brush plants growing. This makes it ideal for the goats. In fact, they probably won’t need any hay for a while. The only downside is getting more poison ivy on my arms from milking goats.
Here are some pictures of the area and the herd getting there first taste. It was getting dim, but I wanted to take some day one photos. If you have considered goats for clearing poison ivy, come see the before for yourself. Just swing by the old house and grab some boxes on the way.

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Email and phone changes

With the move, come a few changes to our phone and email accounts. All of our Comcast email accounts will go away in June. Our home phone will be disconnected on Friday. We will not have a new home phone line, cell phones only.

From now on, please contact Anna on email at anna@thesawyerfarms.com or phone/text at 860-886-3644. Contact Rob at rob@thesawyerfarms.com or phone/text at 860-884-0110.

My time as NAUTILUS OIC is history

Today, I was relieved as OIC of NAUTILUS and will now be moving on to a staff job at Naval War College in Newport, RI after a brief 30 days of leave.  Below is a picture taken by The Day as seen in their article.  I have also decided to include my speech.

COC

Admiral Goebel, Captain Hendrix, and Captains, Casciano, Derenski, Verbeke, and Riegal, Members of the Submarine Force Library and Museum Association, Submarine veterans, family and friends, good afternoon and welcome.

First, to my beautiful wife Anna.  Thank you for your love and support of my career and for everything you do to run our farm and raise our children, Alex, Vicki, and Amanda.  To my parents, Ken and Liz; once again, you have rearranged your life to be present at a career milestone, just like all the other significant milestones in the past.  I am grateful for your support throughout my life and I know the kids are happy you came.

Growing up, I was very active in the Boy Scouts, and my father was my Scoutmaster for many years.  In Scouting, there are knots worn on the uniforms of leaders that signify awards or accomplishments.  Some adults have many knots, while others have few.  My father taught me the knots on your uniform have little value.  The way you live your life, and the impact you have as a leader is more important than the awards you receive along the way.

While serving as Engineer on ANNAPOLIS, I met Capt Dennis McKelvey and his wife Susan who are joining us today.  Capt McKelvey stands out as the most influential leader in my Navy career.  There were a number of occasions when he chose decisions as CO that he personally felt was the right answer, regardless of external pressure to do something different.  While it was not always the easiest choice, he stood by his decisions, a leadership trait I have tried to emulate.

Growing up, I remember visiting 3 significant naval locations that influenced my view of the Navy and contributed to why I chose the Navy over other military services.  Those locations were, the battleship USS Alabama in Mobile, AL, The Naval Air Museum in Pensacola, FL (another NHHC Museum), and the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown in Charleston, SC.  I have vivid memories of each of those locations, and every time I visited, I was intrigued to learn something new and take away a different appreciation for history and the Naval Force.  I will admit, I never liked reading about history.  In fact, I took the bare minimum number of history courses that I could while at the Naval Academy.  However, I have always enjoyed experiencing history through walking civil war battlefields, visiting museums, and touring old Navy ships.  For the past 2 years, I have had the opportunity to be a supporting part of that experience for the 300,000 visitors who came through this museum.  The opportunity to impact the public perception of the Navy and tell the story of those who went before us, is hands down, what makes this job different from all my other experiences in the Navy.

The story of the submarine force is told by the people who volunteer as docents at the front desk, greeting visitors every day.  It is told through the exhibits that we have and by the crew members interacting with visitors.  I have been privileged to hear some of the more unique stories; many of which are not told in the halls of the museum, but might be in the future.  I would like to share a few stories that stand out in my mind.

One nice day in 2012, a visitor came up to the offices and told us he had the original coffee maker that had been used on NAUTILUS and wanted to donate it.  As the story was relayed, when NAUTILUS when into her first overhaul period, there was no space to store items removed as interference on jobs.  The CO at the time decided to send these interference items home with Chiefs and Officers who lived in base housing for temporary storage in their garages.  This particular coffee maker was one such item that had been stored in this Chief’s garage.  The problem was, after the overhaul, a new coffee maker was installed and the old one was obsolete.  The Chief maintained custody of the coffee maker for over 50 years, moving it from garage to garage until finally bringing it to the Museum for donation.  Now many of you are probably thinking of a tall coffee pot like you might see in a conference room.  However, this particular unit was closer to the size of washing machine.  We actually considered trying to find a way to install it in the museum, but we no longer have anyone qualified and proficient to operate it.

Shortly after relieving as OIC, the museum staff began working with Subase on the dedication of the new Submarine Learning Center headquarters, Cromwell Hall.  For our part, we conducted liaison with the Cromwell family, which eventually resulted in their decision to donate Capt John Cromwell’s Medal of Honor.  In fact, I have been able to see 2 original Medal of Honors that we have in the collection here at the museum.  When you consider the number of submariners that have served, while only 8 have received the Medal of Honor, it causes me great reflection on the significance of what those 8 did to earn our nation’s highest award.

Last summer, a young man, probably in his late 20s, came to the museum with a piece of fabric that was his grandfathers and had been handed down in the family.  He currently had custody of it, and wanted to bring it by to share.  On Nov 19, 1943, USS SCULPIN, (SS-191) was discovered by the Japanese destroyer YAMAGUMO.  After attempting to evade depth charges submerged, the SCULPIN was forced to surface and man the deck guns.  The destroyer’s deck guns were overwhelming, resulting in the death of the CO, Commander Fred Connaway.  The ship’s senior surviving officer ordered SCULPIN scuttled.  Crew members abandoned ship and were imprisoned at the ASHWIO POW camp.  On Aug 19, 1945, the members of the POW camp all signed a piece of parachute that had dropped supplies to the camp.  The names included Ed Ricketts, grandfather to the young man who brought in the piece of parachute.  Another name on the piece is Clifford Kuykendall, who was the sole survivor from USS TULLIBEE (SS-284).  However, one name that was NOT on the parachute, was Capt John Cromwell.  You see, Capt Cromwell had been embarked on SCULPIN to lead a Wolfpack of submarines.  Due to his significant knowledge of allied plans, he chose to go down with SCULPIN, vice being captured.  For that, he was awarded the Medal of Honor which is now a part of our collection.

None of these stories would be saved, and I certainly wouldn’t know what I do about them if it wasn’t for the work of the Museum staff.  I would like the following people to stand.  Linda Williams, Wendy Gulley, Liz Murphy, Thaddeus Wakefield, Martha Barber, and the museum curator, Steve Finnigan.  (APPLAUSE) Thank you for your work.

This museum would not be what it is without the contribution of a large list of both individuals and organizations.  Thank you to the Submarine Force Library and Museum Association which is a vital part of this place supporting in particular, the development and maintenance of exhibits and education programs.  Thank you to the crew who are the Navy’s PR representatives every day.  Thank you to Regional Support Group, Electric Boat, NRMD, Public Works, and all the other behind the scenes organizations that keep this place running.

I am honored to have had the opportunity to preserve and improve the legacy of the Submarine Force for future generations, and I wish the best of luck to Ben as he leads the crew and staff as they continue this important mission and also to Capt Hendrix as he leads the Navy History and Heritage Command.  I look forward to seeing how this museum grows in the future when I come back with my own kids as they continue to grow; to educate and inspire them, and ensure they appreciate the freedom provided by our military.

Why we support Firefly Farms

On May 14, 2013, there will be an important vote in North Stonington regarding Firefly Farms.  We are not eligible to vote in North Stonington because we do not own property in North Stonington (renting only) and Rob is military (WA resident) while Anna is not a US Citizen.  However, we feel strongly enough about this subject that I would like to call the matter to the attention of others who can vote in North Stonington.

I have spent a lot of time reading everything I could find that was publicly available on town websites, Facebook (clearly has a personal slant), and newspaper articles.  I have also been to Firefly Farms multiple times, seen the animals, watched the progress improving the land and buildings, and met the farmers. In the end, we support Firefly Farms.

I am not going to rehash all the details.  If you are not familiar with the subject matter behind the vote, you can read about it on the North Stonington bulletin board.   You can also read about it on the Firefly Farms website, but I wanted to make sure everyone had the independent site as well.  I do want to explain why I think this is important and why North Stonington voters should support Firefly Farms.

1.  What if your property was next?  This is a case of the town First Selectman, Nick Mullane, clearly admitting multiple times to have made an error in the recording of a transaction over 20 years ago.  Now, the town has decided to “fix it”.  Read the documents and see if you think the town is offering a fair deal to Firefly.  Do you have the ability to fight a legal battle like this if the First Selectman decided they made an error about your property sometime before you even owned it?

2.  Last fall, I attended (but did not vote at) a town meeting regarding budgets since the voters did not approve the first 3 budgets.  At that meeting, the town VOTED AGAINST extending voting hours for residents who requested it.  The major source of opposition was the few hundred dollars of cost to support the request for extending the hours.  HOWEVER, somehow, the town has tens of thousands of dollars to fight for a small amount of wet acreage. I have personally walked on the acreage in question and trust me, you won’t go on family hikes in this area.  In fact, Firefly Farms (via their title insurance) offered the town $100,000 to drop the issue.  I think it is ridiculous because I think they should be chomping at the bit to go to court and seek financial damages from the town.  The First Selectman rejected the offer!  Quite a disparity in my opinion.

3.  North Stonington is the only town I know of that boasts a book about the history of dairy farms (which I have a copy of) and even has it on display in the town hall.  Yet, when a family wants to operate a reasonably sized farm, that generates income, jobs, and pays taxes to the town, the town fights like crazy to block the efforts.  During our 2.5 years operating our small farm, I can honestly say, there are easier ways to make money.  This town can not claim to be farm friendly and expect to keep rural culture, if it blocks farms from starting up like this.

4.  The power lies with the people.  I think this is an example of elected officials using their power without the knowledge of the constituents.  The voters need to be heard and need to send a message to town hall that they are out of line.  And if the vote goes against Firefly Farms, it will send a nice clear message to others who are thinking about farming in North Stonington.

DO NOT RELY ON WHAT I HAVE HERE.  PLEASE READ THE INFO FOR YOURSELF AND MAKE YOUR OWN DECISIONS. If you agree, vote to support Firefly Farms.  If not, vote against them.  Regardless, your vote on Tuesday May 14th will matter on this issue.

 

The move has begun

We have begun the task of moving the farm to Griswold.  We are doing a PPM (Personally Procured Move – formerly DITY) which means we move it all ourselves and get 95% of what the government would have spent.  It works out to be a good deal for us.  Of course, there are limits to what can or can not count, but we maxed out the weight limit when moving to CT in 2006.  We haven’t exactly downsized since then.  In fact, last night I took the first load in my new 14′ dump bed trailer and it had 50% of our weight allotment.  I should only need 1 or 2 more weight tickets to finish with the paperwork, even though we won’t actually be done moving.

I took today off to get a good start on the move.  Unfortunately, when unloading some mulch we were saving for the new place (about 6 yards of mulch), I wasn’t paying attention.  The back door to the dump bed was latched open and as I drove forward, a 14″ maple removed said door.  It broke the welds for the top hinge, sheared the bottom hinge bolt and twisted the hinge, and did some other bending what should have been straight things.  So, the new trailer is getting it’s first repairs.  It should be ready and back on the road before midnight.

Until then, I am continuing to work on fence removal and loading fencing into one of the other 3 trailers we have.  Isn’t moving fun!

My new ride

Last week, I bought myself a new car: 2013 VW Jetta Wagon with the TDI engine. I will soon be commuting 20,000+ a year, and with trimming clients spread around, I expect to exceed 30,000 miles a year. While I love my truck and it still serves a purpose in our life, 14mpg just wasn’t cutting it.
So, 9 days later I added some diesel to the tank. First tank: 39.3 mpg.
I am extremely happy with the new ride. 11 years of driving a truck made me forget how comfortable driving can be.

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goat herd reductions

Anna and I have been debating what to keep and what to sell as we prepare to move.  The one thing we agree on is, we have too many goats.  It was fun developing a larger herd, but we can’t stay caught up with the horses and goats with the herd size we have now.  We are not ready to give up entirely (though the thought has crossed our minds a few times).  We have decided to sell our Oberhaslis and keep the Lamanchas.  You can see exactly which goats are being sold here.

The story of our lives with horses. And goats.